Patrick Parfrey,
OC (born 1950) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
physician, specialized as
nephrologist
Nephrology (from Greek'' nephros'' "kidney", combined with the suffix ''-logy'', "the study of") is a specialty of adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function (ren ...
and
epidemiologist
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population.
It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...
. Parfrey is an internationally known scientist and clinical epidemiologist. In addition, he has provided leadership to the sport of
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
, coaching teams at the local (
Swilers RFC
The Swilers are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland. The team plays in the Newfoundland Rugby League and draws most of its players from the Newfoundland Rugby Union The Newfoundland Rugby Union is the provincial administr ...
), provincial (
Newfoundland Rock
The Newfoundland Rock are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship (RCNJC) and draws most of its players from the Newfoundland Rugby Union, one of ...
) and national (
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
) levels and serving as president of
Rugby Canada
Rugby Canada is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in Canada. Rugby Canada was incorporated in 1974, and stems from the Canadian Rugby Football Union, a body established in 1884 that now governs amateur Canadian football a ...
.
Academics
Parfrey graduated from
University College Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...
in 1975 with a first class honours degree in Medicine. He was awarded an
''MB BCh'' in 1980.
After working in
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Parfrey and his family eventually settled at
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...
. In 1984 he was appointed assistant professor of Medicine. He became chief of the Division of Nephrology in 1987, chief of the division of Clinical Epidemiology and professor of Medicine in 1993. His research interests include the genetic and clinical epidemiology of inherited diseases, patient-related problems in nephrology and healthcare delivery research. He has published over 200 original articles and contributed to many books.
Parfrey received the Canada Institute of Health Research Distinguished Scientist Award in 2000 and the Medal for Research Excellence from the Kidney Foundation of Canada in 2002. He was named an Officer to the Order of Canada in 2004.
Rugby Union
Parfrey started playing rugby at age 13 at the CBC in his native Cork. He played his club rugby for
University College Cork R.F.C.
University College Cork Rugby Football Club currently plays in Division 1B of the All-Ireland League (rugby union), All-Ireland League. Founded in 1872, they originally played as ''Queen’s College Cork'', as UCC was then known. Recent success ...
,
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
, Montreal Irish and
Swilers RFC
The Swilers are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland. The team plays in the Newfoundland Rugby League and draws most of its players from the Newfoundland Rugby Union The Newfoundland Rugby Union is the provincial administr ...
. Between 1970-77 he played in all of Munster's games, including the game when
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
drew 3-3 with the
New Zealand All-Blacks in 1973; he also won a cap for
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
as a wing against them in 1974. He was the coach who led
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
to the club’s first ever Cup Final in 1980. He left London Irish in 1982 and moved to Montreal, where he coached
Montreal Irish. He then become coach of the Canadian National side and led them to the 1999 Rugby World Cup. He also led Canada to victory in the
Pacific Rim Rugby Championship in 1997 and 1998. He later became the President of the Canadian RFU, and is still a Director. More recently he coached the Newfoundland Rock team and won the
Rugby Canada Super League
The Rugby Canada Super League (RCSL or Super League) was a national, semi-professional rugby union competition in Canada. The league represented the second level of domestic rugby union in Canada, and the highest level wholly indigenous to Canada ...
.
His honours are Munster Cup with UCC (1976), County Championship with Middlesex, Canadian National Championships 2005, 2006 and 2008 with the
Newfoundland Rock
The Newfoundland Rock are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship (RCNJC) and draws most of its players from the Newfoundland Rugby Union, one of ...
as coach.
In order to improve Canadian Rugby Parfrey trained an under 19 team in 1987 and toured London. The team won 5 out of 6 games including the London Irish under 19 team.
External links
Order of Canada citationInterview about rugby career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parfrey, Patrick
1950 births
Living people
Alumni of University College Cork
Canadian nephrologists
Canadian people of Irish descent
Canadian rugby union coaches
Ireland international rugby union players
Irish emigrants to Canada
Irish rugby union players
London Irish players
Academic staff of the Memorial University of Newfoundland
Munster Rugby players
Officers of the Order of Canada
Rugby union players from Cork (city)
Sportspeople from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
University College Cork RFC players